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F. EGNER.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ILLUMINATING GAS. No. 331,621, Patented Dectl, 1885.

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I. EG-NER.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ILLUMINATING GAS. No. 331,621. Patented Dec. 1, 1885.

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FREDERIG EGNER, OF

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 331,621, dated December 1, 1885.

Application filed September 28, 1885. Serial No. 178,461. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDERIC EGNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Apparatus for the Manufacture of Illuminating- Gas, of which the following is such full, clear, and exact description as will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the whole apparat-us. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the bench used, partly in section, and a rear elevation of the generator, and Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of said bench and front elevation of said generator.

Like letters refer to like portions of the apparatus in all the figures.

A is a generator, with door d, fuel-hopper and valve (only partly shown) 72, stoke and sight holes S, take-on" pipe P, leading to the fixing-chambers N N, &c., through valves and pipes N N.

B is an ordinary bench of retort-s, such as is used in coal-gas work,with this difference and addition, that in place of two of the ordinary retorts, R, generally used there are set a series of fixing-chambers, N N, &c. These fixing-chambers may be of iron or fire-clay. An end view of them is given. 1 They set on the tile on which the retort usually is placed,and, unlike the retorts, run all through the bench lengthwise, and are connected at'both ends with one common mouth-piece in batteries of four (more or less) to each mouth-piece. To be sure, retorts might be used instead of these narrow fixing-chambers; but retorts would not be as good in operation. It is the heated surface or wall of the fixing-chamber which acts on the gas, and when a retort is used much of the gas passes through such retort, if used as a fixing-chamber,uncombined, for gas being a poor conductor of heat only those vapors or gas comparatively near the walls are acted upon. For that reason these inverted U- shaped fixing-chambers were devised. As will be seen by reference to the drawings, these fixing-chambers are set so that a series of them may be united at each end by one common mouth-piece, and that, for instance, as shown, four of these chambershave one common inlet pipe, N,and one common outlet-pipe, L, which latter ends in the hydraulic seal W.

J is a steam jet-exhauster.

O is the main takeoff pipe, leading to the purifying apparatus as generally employed.

Oil-tank, oil-pipes M, and the steam-pipe shown will be explained in the description of the operation of the apparatus. 7

The construction and operation of the generator A is shown and described partly in my Patent N 0. 315,751, but especially in that granted me September 15, 1885, and numbered 326,488.

The process or operation of the apparatus is similar in all its essential features, and yet differs greatly, and is far more eiiicient by reason of the addition of the fixing-chambers previously described.

I am aware that fiXing-retorts have been used before, but never in an apparatus operated, constructed, and using material as in mine.

I know of the patent granted to A. P. Southwick, and the reissues to same, the original number being 142,289. I also know of the patent of J erzmanowski, No. 212, 948, in which retorts are used for fixing gas just the same as in Southwicks; butin all these cases a secondary gas-holder must be employed, from which the. gases are finally sent through the fixingretorts. I am aware that William Harkness, Patent No. 151,283, has used fixing-retorts. Yet they all used the ordinary retort, the defects of which I have herein pointed out, and in place of which I place these narrow fixing chambers, thus causing all the gas to come into intimate contact with the sides of the retorts, or rather fixing-chambers.

Another great difference of my apparatus is, as has been pointed out in my Patent No. 326,486, that the generator,while in shape and construction and general appearance is very much like nearly all the so-called water-gas generators, it yet difiersin its operation from any of them.

And now to describethe operation of the present apparatus. Gas may be made in retorts R by allowing oil to run into them through pipes M. The exhauster, which may be of any kind, being started, thegas or vapors will be drawn in the direction of the arrows up into pipe 1?, and from there down pipes .L Fig.

2, through N N N, &c., up and through pipes L L, seal W, Fig. 3, and so on, and finally forced through general-delivery pipe 0. Then valve V on the generator is opened, and the gases produced therein meet those produced in the retorts and dilute them, and together pass through N N, &c., as before described, thereby becoming thoroughly mixed and homogeneous. I have found by practice that any kind of bitu minons coal may be usedinthe generator, as described in my Patent No. 326,483, and as intended to be used in the apparatus herein described, and that no admixture of coke or anything else is needed. I have also found that the depth of fuel may be reduced to less than thirty-six inches with advantage, and that the gases produced in the generator and mixed, as herein described, pro duce good permanent gas, the material required being about eleven and two-tenths pounds of Pittsburg slack coal, three and eighty-two one-hundredths gallons of common naphtha, (62 grade,) though crude petroleum may also be used, and one and thirty-three onehundredths pound of coke or other fuel to one thousand cubic feet of gas, varying from eighteen to twenty-five candle power, but averaging about nineteen standard candle power.

The valves shown are very necessary, as by their means the amount of vacuum in the generator and other parts of the apparatus may be regulated as desired.

In an apparatus as shown in the drawings, in which the generator is three feet inside diameter, together with the retorts, as shown, one hundred and sixty thousand cubic feet of gas can be easily made in twenty-four hours. Of course the size of the generator may be increased or decreased, and the number of retorts diminished or added to, as the case may require.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

. In combination with a generator, retorts, exhauster, hydraulic seal, and regulating-valves, all in regular sequence, as described, the fixingehambers N N, &c., as shown and described.

In testimony thatI claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERI'C EGNER.

Witnesses:

JNo. A. TOMPKINS, JOHN DRUM. 

